Gears of War: The Epic Journey

“At first I was a bit taken aback,” admits Gears producer Rod Fergusson. “You’re used to these guys being virtual, so to see them in real life walking around a corner is a bit surreal.” Cliffy agreed. “I didn’t know whether to jump up and down and cheer or get the hell out of there,” he added. “It was like meeting a celebrity, or having your dreams come to life right in front of your face.” Even the bewildered ice-cream servers are beaming with a mixture of confusion and excitement, cameras snapping all around them as Delta Squad takes an ice-cream break. For all the insane deadlines and relentless pressures of working in a multibillion-dollar entertainment industry, Epic is a sea of easy smiles today.

Everybody got a chance to get their photo taken with Delta Squad.

While Mark Rein conducts his own arms inspection — “Look at all the blood on the chainsaw!” he squeals, with a hint of sick glee — the squad retreats for a moment, and returns bearing a gift for Epic: a military-style trophy case. Sealed inside are the results of hundreds of hours of artistic labor: the original sculptures of the Lancer, Snub pistol, and Boltok pistol, now chrome-plated and preserved for posterity. Screened inside the case’s background is the legend “There’s a reason why nightmares happen in the dark.” To top it off, Sid presents Cliff and Mark with their very own blood-spattered Lancer and COG helmet to pass around the office. Mark immediately puts on the helmet and strikes a heroic pose, but Cliff looks humbly overcome. He wears the helmet for the remainder of the day.

Presenting arms!

ART BEYOND ART
After the gang has stripped off their armor and character quirks, Sid is called away to chat with Mark Rein and Epic’s vice president of business development, Jay Wilbur, to talk business. While details were not finalized at press time, the stage seems set for Nightmare to keep creating Gears of War armor, now with Epic’s official blessing. “We’re blown away,” Jay says. “The quality of the armor was beyond what I could have imagined.”

It's love.

“When I see that kind of dedication, I definitely feel proud,” adds Fergusson. “The team here put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into making Gears, and it’s incredible to see fans willing to put in hundreds of hours’ worth of their own work to show their enthusiasm for the game and world we’ve created.” Mark Rein already seems to be planning the next visit: “Next time you’re going to drive in in the APC, right?”

After Epic treats the gang to a few sneak-peek rounds with the then-unreleased Hidden Fronts maps, Sid Garrand — running on adrenaline instead of sleep — is weary but wired. It’s clear that Epic appreciates Nightmare’s creations as much as Nightmare appreciates Epic’s. The cycle of inspiration looped back on itself, creating what Sid had hoped for from the journey — what he describes as “art beyond art.” “This was a dream come true,” he declares. “I don’t think it could’ve gone any better. I’ll remember this forever.”

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